Let's start with TikTok, which has one of the most formidable algorithms, powering one of the most addictive apps of our time.

• It learns what you linger on — not what you "like" — and feeds you more of it at scale.

There's no way to fully turn off TikTok's algorithm, but you can blunt its influence on your feed.

1. 🔎 Ditch the "For You" feed: This is where TikTok flexes its algorithmic muscle, serving up videos it thinks will keep you on the app. Instead, explore the "Following" feed, which only shows you TikToks made by friends or creators you've intentionally chosen.
2. 🛑 Prune your algorithm: If you can't escape it, train it. Be ruthless about flagging videos you don't want to see more of — whether that's incendiary personalities or buckets of content, like politics. Press on a video for a bit, and you'll see an option to tap "Not Interested." Use it!
3. 🌱 Seek out the good stuff: Training works both ways. There's a lot of great content on TikTok. Use the search bar to actively look for the videos you do want to see. That could be "how Congress works," "plant care tips" or "guided meditation."

More tips

Instagram, the visual platform that once revolved around your friends' espresso drinks and vacation photos, now feels packed with influencers you've never met and recommendations you didn't ask for.

Why it matters: Cleaning up your Instagram account redirects you to content from people and posts you actually care about.

Some of your options:

1. ➡️ Quick fix: Switch to the "Following" feed by clicking the Instagram logo at the top of your screen when you open the app. You'll have to toggle to it each time you open the app, but it'll only show you posts from those you follow — the closest you can get to an algorithm-free feed.
2. 🗑️ Gradual cleanup: Start tapping the "…" and hitting "Not Interested" whenever you see a garbage post, whether it's fake news, rage bait or influencers.
3. 👥 Check what you're engaging with: Go to your profile, tap "Following," then "Least Interacted With." You'll see accounts you haven't engaged with in a while, and you can quickly unfollow from there.

More tips

Facebook has shaped political discourse, family dynamics and entire news cycles for years.

• Its algorithm reflects years of your clicks, relationships and habits, so your feed may be showing you a version of the world built from your past.

Why it matters: Facebook doesn't have to be a pit of despair and rage bait. You can reset it.

It's never too late to start — here's how:

1. Snooze and unfollow: Facebook allows you to hide people you follow or "Snooze" their content. (Tap the "..." next to a post you don't enjoy and you'll find a number of options to hide that post, snooze the poster, hide all content from that user or unfollow them altogether.)
2. 🚦 Adjust your preferences: Over the political content? You can dial it back. Go to "Settings & privacy," then "Content preferences," where you can reduce the amount of political and sensitive content in your feed.

More tips

Your X feed is designed to make you emotional.

Why it matters: X's algorithm intentionally pushes posts that spark strong reactions, making your feed feel angrier and more chaotic. AI chatbot Grok makes this worse by frequently surfacing misleading content.

💨 The quickest fix: Skip the "For You" page and stick to the "Following" tab.

• But be careful. A recent update made the "Following" tab default to the "most popular" tweets in that category. On a desktop, you can click the small arrow on the "Following" tab and toggle between "popular" and "recent" depending on your preference.

More tips

YouTube is now flooded with engagement bait and AI-generated content — often recycled, repackaged and optimized for clicks.

Why it matters: The more you watch passively, the more the platform assumes you want the same. If you want better recommendations, you have to interrupt the cycle.

Here are ways to clean up your feed:

1. 🚫 Remove, remove, remove: This is YouTube's simplest fix. Click the three dots next to a video and select "Not interested" or "Don't recommend channel." Over time, this trains the algorithm away from content you don't want.
2. ⏸️ Hit pause: You can pause your watch history to prevent your algorithm from recommending anything tied to your past viewings. (Go to "Settings," then "Manage all history," then "Controls." From there, turn off "Include the YouTube videos you watch.")

More tips

👋 Yacob here. I hate to preach abstinence, but from experience, the only way to truly declutter your mind (and your feed) is to abandon social media — at least, for a little while.

• I deleted every social media app from my phone in an effort to salvage my attention span and survive my final semester of grad school. And since then, I've read four books and feel more connected to the world around me.
• And oddly enough, whenever I peek back into social media, it feels different, more like the apps are trying to court me again.

👋 Kathryn here. The worst of my compulsive scrolling happens on Instagram. I've gone through many cycles of deleting and redownloading the app with little change in my overall habit.

• One thing I will vouch for: curating your Facebook feed.
• I engage with a lot of local and Florida-themed Facebook groups, and that's helped shape my feed into a mix of local gossip and insider-y posts about state parks, springs and beaches.

🏝️ Under new rules passed last month by St. Pete Beach commissioners, beachfront property owners can't place signs within 50 feet of the mean high-water line. (St. Pete Catalyst)

• City leaders said the measure was needed to keep beaches safe and accessible, but some opponents said it oversteps private property rights.

🧠 Eric MacDonald, a sophomore at Dr. Kiran C. Patel High School, built a popular SAT prep app, using ChatGPT. The app has surpassed 10,000 downloads. (Tampa Bay Times)